The present invention relates to fan-folded insulating board, and, more particularly, to fan-folded insulating board having reinforced hinges between adjacent panels.
Insulating board is widely employed in building construction to provide thermal and sound insulation, and also to level the surface for the installation thereover of exterior siding such as vinyl and aluminum. The insulating board provides a flat reference plane in which the siding is applied.
Generally, the building panels are laminates of a synthetic resin foam board such as polystyrene or polyurethane with protective skins on each surface thereof. The skins provide rigidity for the laminate and also act as hinges when the laminate is scored alternately on opposite sides to permit fan-folding of the panels.
Providing the insulating board laminate as fan-folded panels is highly desirable from the standpoint of transportation and ease of mounting on vertical surfaces. In making the fan-folds, the laminate is scored on alternate surfaces to a depth short of the protective film on the other surface, and the remaining depth of the foam board will break between the adjacent panels upon folding force being applied thereto.
Subsequently, the installer secures the first panel to the wall with fasteners and the remaining panels can cascade and be secured to the underlying structure. During the unsupported cascading and prior to the fastening of the remaining panels, there are significant stresses at the hinges where the product is scored. There is a tendency for the skin serving as the hinge to peel away from the board and to delaminate beginning at the hinge area at the top and the bottom of the panels. This delamination reduces the rigidity of the product and makes the installation more difficult and time consuming. As a result, greater care in handling and support of the cascading panels is required in order to minimize the stresses on the hinges and to minimize delamination of the skins. In an effort to deal with this problem, the strength of the bond between the skin and the foam board can be increased, generally at greater cost and not always successfully.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel fan-folded insulating foam board in which the hinge joints are reinforced to minimize the tendency for delamination.
It is also an object to provide such a fan-folded insulating board which can be produced relatively easily and economically.
Another object is to provide a method for producing such fan-folded insulating foam board.